make your own: sea salt scrub.

October 5, 2016

The likelihood that this post offers the majority of readers anything truly revelatory is slim. But I’m not looking to be revelatory. I’m just looking to remind you all to take a few minutes and commit to doing something nice for yourself (or someone else). I needed the reminder this week, you might too.

Body scrubs—whether they’re made from salt or sugar—are some of the very simplest things to make and so deeply satisfying to use. In this season when the air is cooling off and the moisture in it is wicking away, it feels especially helpful to restore a little bit of what’s been lost. For me personally, an expanding belly and the accompanying stretching skin is in need of extra attention these days. An exfoliating scrub rich with restorative oils is the answer.

The recipe, such that it is, couldn’t be easier: One part oil to two parts salt and a few drops of essential oil to make it smell nice. I used sea salt and almond oil because that’s what I had on hand. I used orange oil because its subtle scent isn’t overwhelming but it’s still uplifting during a morning shower when I’m struggling to wake myself up.

The point here isn’t preciousness, it’s simplicity. A salt scrub like this one is a quick thing to put together while standing over your kitchen counter drinking a morning cup of coffee with eyes half opened. Measure if you must, but mostly just mix things together and get thee to the shower for some old-fashioned scrubbing.

I put my scrub into the little Weck jar with a plastic replacement lid I found at the local kitchen shop. It’s the same jar and lid that we used to keep the coconut oil in when Faye was in diapers. Easy access and no fumbling with clips or screw tops feels like a nice thing for easy access, but use whatever you have on hand. (Just getting the stuff made and put to use is the goal.)

Sea Salt Scrub

1/2 cup sweet almond oil (jojoba or olive or most anything you have on hand would also work)

3-4 drops sweet orange essential oil

Mix ingredients together. Mixture will be quite moist but not terribly runny. Feel free to adjust either salt or oil until you find a consistency that you like. You can’t really mess this up. Scrub and enjoy and rinse out the tub when you’re done.

This looks wonderful. I made the warming sugar scrub a couple of years ago and loved it – as did the friends I gifted it to. Looking forward to trying the salt scrub – we are definitely entering the drying season and my skin loves the extra moisture. Thank you!

These are just blue apothecary bottles—the essential oil came in this one and the sweet almond oil, I decanted. (You can find them all over the internet or in lots of health and wellness stores.) The labels are just kraft address labels. (You can find them at office supply stores, amazon, etc.) (My removal of original labels that I find to be ugly and replacing them with these guys is just my own idiosyncrasy!)

I keep meaning to do this…I refuse to pay $40 or more for something I can easily do myself. I think I’ll use sugar, though, because I hear it’s better for dry skin. Don’t know why, and it’s probably not true, but there you go.

Hi Erin,
another expanding belly here (7th month to be exact) and in need of some pampering. I was wondering what essential oils are considered safe during pregnancy and which ones should be most avoided..any tip? Lovely pictures by the way

Hey Alessia! Congratulations! There’s a ton of information about this on the internet—and definitely chat with your healthcare provider about specifics—but in general citrus oils like grapefruit, orange, and lemon are typically considered safe during pregnancy!